What is Your Sentence?

I have written about Daniel Pink’s ideas several times, and I continue to come back to him for ideas on how to change and improve education. Recently, I spoke to AVID students at Murray Middle School. The subject I discussed was Daniel Pink’s idea of “two simple questions” to help frame your life. The two questions are:

What is my sentence?

Am I better today than I was yesterday?

To understand the first one, you need to watch the very short video clip that explains the questions.

After talking about this idea of what your sentence is, I asked the students what there sentence would be. They sent their answers back in the form of a PowerPoint file. Most talked about going to college and getting jobs. They were interesting to read and I have included a few examples below.

George: I am smart and can do anything you put at me.

Sandra: I am very helpful to others.

Maggie: I want to make the most of this crazy life!

Chuck: My life sentence is to be one step closer to success everyday.

Chris Meeks: Change the world one student at a time.

Melissa Mitchell: I strive to inspire.

I ask you now, what is your sentence? If you had to sum up your life in one sentence, what would it be? For me I hope it would be: “He made learning possible for every student.”

Thanks to the staff and students at Murray Middle! I am always impressed by the work our staff and students do. Let’s all hope that we are better tomorrow than we are today.